The COVID-19, power generation and economy – Case study of a developing country

The global COVID-19 pandemic created profound impact on every nation’s economy, education, healthcare, social and cultural life, domestic and international mobility at an unprecedented level. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, most nations are undergoing through frequent full or partial lockdowns, resulting in significant economic losses, and unprecedented suffering of hundreds of millions of people worldwide. Given the crucial role of electric power in economic activities, the purpose of this study is to investigate the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on power sector and economy in a developing/emerging country as a case study. The study examined electric power generation and consumption, GDP growth, export, import, remittances, and various government measures undertaken during the COVID-19 pandemic in Bangladesh. Autoregressive distributed lag (ARDL) model was used to investigate correlation between COVID-19 cases and power consumption during full and partial lockdowns. The research revealed a long-run negative relationship between COVID-19 cases and power consumption during partial lockdowns. The study also revealed that the targeted and partial lockdowns accompanied by nation-wide mass vaccination programme can steer the economy along the power sector with minimal or no impact during the COVID-19 pandemic.